Latest TSC Headlines

Oklahoma Tornado Leaves at Least 91 Dead: Report

twocents@thestreet.com (Joseph Woelfel) — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:10 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- A massive tornado cut a swath of destruction across the suburbs of Oklahoma City on Monday, according to published media reports, killing at least 91 people, 20 of them children.

The tornado flattened multiple buildings in Moore, about 10 miles south of the city. The New York Times reported that at least 91 people had died , including the children, and officials said that toll was likely to climb. Hospitals reported at least 145 people injured, 70 of them children, the Times said.

Local Oklahoma news service News9.com reported that two schools were destroyed by the twister. ...

Is Apache Headed to Triple Digits?

twocents@thestreet.com (OptionMonster) — Tue, 21 May 2013 08:54 GMT

By David Russell, reporter at OptionMonster

NEW YORK -- Energy producer Apache bounced at its 200-day moving average, and the bulls are looking for steady gains.

OptionMonster's tracking programs detected the purchase of 10,000 January 90 calls for $3.51 and the sale of an equal number of January 100 calls for $1.36. Volume was more than quadruple open interest at each strike, indicating new activity. ...

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European Banks Face Severe Handicap Recruiting in U.S., Asia

twocents@thestreet.com (Dan Freed) — Tue, 21 May 2013 06:00 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- European banks may soon find it far more difficult to attract and retain talented U.S. executives, as new pay restrictions draw closer.

Under new rules being finalized by the European Banking Authority, top executives at European banks and money management companies will likely be required to limit bonuses to no more than 2 or 2.5 times their base salary, according to Alan Johnson, head of compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates.

"I don't think people are focused enough on what that's really going to mean," Johnson says. ...

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Yahoo! Unveils Flickr Overhaul, NY Office

twocents@thestreet.com (Gary Krakow) — Tue, 21 May 2013 04:30 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Yesterday turned out to be a very busy day for the new Yahoo!.

First, the announcement, early on Monday that the Internet giant paid $1.1 billion to buy microblogging site Tumblr.

Then, late Monday afternoon Yahoo! gathered a very small number of journalists in a hotel overlooking Times Square to make another two big announcements - the leasing of new space for a Yahoo! New York office and a complete upgrade of the company's popular Flickr photo sharing service. ...

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Tornado Leaves 51 Dead in Oklahoma: Reports

twocents@thestreet.com (James Rogers) — Tue, 21 May 2013 03:57 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - A massive tornado has cut a swath of destruction across the suburbs of Oklahoma City, according to published media reports, leaving at least 51 people dead.

The Associated Press reports that the tornado flattened multiple buildings in Moore, about 10 miles south of the city. At least 51 people were killed, with officials saying that the death toll was expected to rise.

Local Oklahoma news service News9.com reported that two schools were destroyed by the twister. Oklahoma hospitals say that they have treated about 120 people, including 50 children. ...

Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Think Dividends, Not Coupons

twocents@thestreet.com (Scott Rutt) — Tue, 21 May 2013 00:15 GMT

Search Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" trading recommendations using our exclusive "Mad Money" Stock Screener.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- We want dividends from stocks, not coupons from bonds, Jim Cramer told his "Mad Money" TV show viewers Monday as he offered investment advice for this week's Powerball lottery winner and the founder of Tumblr, who also received a big payday courtesy of Yahoo! .

Cramer explained that his usual advice for the super-rich is that "you only need to get rich once," thus sticking with safe investments makes the most sense. That's why his typical portfolio would include foreign investments, along with gold, high-end real estate and even paintings, with very little invested in risky equities. For the moderately rich, equities are also too risky, and Cramer said he used to recommend U.S. Treasury bonds along with corporate and municipal bonds. ...

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Urban Outfitters Drops on Lower-than-Expected Sales

twocents@thestreet.com (Laurie Kulikowski) — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:07 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - Urban Outfitters , owner of Anthropologie, Free People and its name brand, fell in after-hours trading as sales growth fell short of analyst expectations.

Shares were falling 3.1% in after market trading after closing Monday at $44.49 per share.

The Philadelphia-based specialty retailer said revenue rose 14% for the three months ended April 30 to a record $648.1 million, less than an average forecast of $655.1 million, according to according to Yahoo! Finance. Profit jumped 39% to $47 million compared to the same period a year ago while earnings per share adjusted for some items totaled 32 cents for the quarter, beating the forecast of 29 cents per share. ...

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Mayer Rolls the Tumblr Dice

twocents@thestreet.com (Rocco Pendola) — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:57 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- From the get-go, I strongly supported Marissa Mayer's tenure as Yahoo! CEO. While I still believe in the legend of Mayer, I'm officially jumping off the bandwagon.

YHOO stock is up 70% since Mayer got the gig. If you have been long, get the hell out. Even if you miss a bit more upside, why be greedy?

It's not that I dislike Tumblr. It's a perfectly worthy fad among a whole slew of new entrants into the space, if we can call social microblogs a "space." It's just that a.) I do not see the sense in making the acquisition; b.) it makes me feel like Mayer has too few original ideas on how to rebuild Yahoo!; and c.) everybody is on the bandwagon like a pack of blindfolded sheep. ...

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Cramer's 6 Stocks in 60 Seconds: AIG KORS RHT ACN EAT KMX (Update 1)

twocents@thestreet.com (Bret Kenwell) — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:55 GMT

Check out Jim Cramer's latest trading recommendations on "Action Alerts Plus". (Updates from 10:38 a.m. ET with closing information.)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Here's what Jim Cramer had to say on CNBC's "Squawk On The Street" Monday. American International Group is a hedge fund favorite, and many believe it's going to $60. Cramer agreed, predicting that "this one's going higher." AIG fell 1% to close at $44.89. Michael Kors will report better-than-expected earnings, according to Canaccord. Even after the big secondary, Cramer said he still likes the name. KORS was unchangd at $60.58. Red Hat is a great play on the cloud, but received a downgrade from BMO. Cramer disagreed, stating, "I think it's going to be a great quarter." RHT fell 4.3% to $52.65. Accenture gets an upgrade from Goldman Sachs, which confuses Cramer because "this thing has been just a horse," all year, indicating it's a late call. ACN was flat at $82.53. Brinker International received a downgrade from Wells Fargo. Cramer disagreed. "I wouldn't go against this group," referring to the restaurant industry. EAT was flat at $41.28. Carmax also received a downgrade this morning. Again, Cramer thinks this is ridiculous, stating, "a lot of guys are downgrading stocks, frankly, because of the big run. I don't like that." KMX closed at $47.84, down 1.7% Monday. ...

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Bank Stocks Do It Again: Financial Winners

twocents@thestreet.com (Philip van Doorn) — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:44 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Capital One was the winner among the nation's largest banks on Monday, with shares rising 2% to close at $61.81.

The broad indices all ended with slight declines, but bank stocks continued their amazing run, with the KBW Bank Index rising 0.5% to close at 61.43. The KBW index is up 20% this year, after rising 30% during 2012.

Investors are looking ahead to Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony before the joint congressional Economic Committee on May 22, ahead of the release of the minutes of the most recent meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, on April 30 and May 1. Investors continue to wonder, as they must, when the central bank will slow the expansion of its balance sheet from monthly purchases of $85 billion in long-term securities, in an effort to hold down long-term interest rates. ...

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Gold, Silver Explode on Huge Reversal (Update 2)

twocents@thestreet.com (Joe Deaux) — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:42 GMT

Updated from 12:45 p.m. ET with settlement prices

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Gold prices on Monday afternoon reversed morning losses as technical trading gained upside momentum.

Gold for June delivery at the COMEX division of the CME jumped $19.40 to settle at $1,384.10 an ounce. The gold price traded as high as $1,397.90 and as low as $1,336.30 an ounce, while the spot price was adding $34.50, according to Kitco's gold index. ...

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Stocks Slip on Concerns Markets Overpriced

twocents@thestreet.com (Andrea Tse) — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:29 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Major U.S. stock markets closed lower Monday as the excitement of corporate dealmaking led by Yahoo! was offset by investor concern that the Federal Reserve may curb its bond-buying economic stimulus program.

The S&P 500 closed off 0.07% to 1,666.29 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.12% to 15,335.51. The Nasdaq slid 0.07% to 3,496.43.

The Fed's Open Market Committee is expected to publish its minutes on Wednesday offering investors clues about whether the central bank plans to continue buying roughly $85 billion in assets each month to stimulate the U.S. economy. Conservativea among the bank's presidents have dominated the conversation in recent weeks, warning that the program is adding to inflation while holding back economic growth. ...

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Yahoo! 'Tumbling' Down the Right but Expensive Path (Update 2)

twocents@thestreet.com (Chris Ciaccia) — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:17 GMT

Updated from 9:29 A.M. to include analyst in the eighth paragraph..

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer is making an enormously bold bet, buying Tumblr for $1.1 billion, mostly in cash. Tumblr has what Yahoo! needs to turn its core business around. But considering the company only did $13 million in revenue last year, it better pay off, or this could be Mayer's first major flub.

When Yahoo! announced its Summly acquisition several weeks ago, Mayer's strategy for Yahoo! was really beginning to reveal itself. Mayer believes that content is king, and Tumblr is just that. There's also the mobile aspect of Tumblr, which Mayer has repeatedly said is something Yahoo! needs to focus on to compete in the future. Also see: Tumblr Yahoos! Old Dog, New Blog >> ...

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Corporate Profit Margins to Increase Through 2014, Says Morgan Stanley

twocents@thestreet.com (Leon Lazaroff) — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:44 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. corporations will generate increased profitability on average during each quarter through 2014, Morgan Stanley said in a report published Monday.

Gross margins for the top 1,500 equities are at 29%, and are forecast to reach an average of 34.6% by the end of 2014, Morgan Stanley said in a report led by equity analyst Adam Parker. Net margins among the top 1,500 U.S. stocks finished the first quarter at 7.15%, and are forecast to average 8.8% by the end of next year.

The largest 50 corporations by market capitalization, the so-called mega-cap stocks, have expanded their net margins at the highest rate. Overall, margins for mega-cap equities are 11.6% compared to 6.2% for large cap stocks, 4.5% for medium-cap stocks and 2.7% for small-cap stocks, Morgan Stanley said. ...

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Google Wallet, RIP?

twocents@thestreet.com (MainStreet) — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:38 GMT

By Robert McGarvey

NEW YORK (MainStreet)--The drumbeats announcing death are getting louder around Google Wallet, at least as regards its use at point of sale via smartphones. Multiple sources are predicting it will be "quietly" killed off.

The smoking gun that triggered the whispers was the May 8 ouster of Osama Bedier, the chief architect of the Wallet and its public face. ...

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Top 10 Companies Hiring This Week

twocents@thestreet.com (AOL Jobs) — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:21 GMT

By Mariya Pylayev

A job search can get quite frustrating these days, with so many people competing for too few openings.

To ease the burden, AOL Jobs tracked down the 10 top companies that are hiring this week. ...

Tumblr Yahoos! Old Dog, New Blog

twocents@thestreet.com (Ross Kenneth Urken) — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:11 GMT

NEW YORK (MainStreet)--Until today, Jim Cramer thought Tumblr was a kind of drinking glass. So when Yahoo! announced its $1.1 billion acquisition of the micro-blogging platform founded by David Karp in 2006, we had to step in and set him straight. We introduced him to my personal Tumblr and explained how the Yahoo! deal is really ODNB incarnate--an aging behemoth trying to stay current with the kids. Yahoo! can't really expect to monetize on Tumblr, but by giving the social network with 100 million blogs a splash of purple, CEO Marissa Mayer gives her company a face-lift and a tipple of a rejuvenating elixir.

Yahoo! has been on a tear recently after March's $30 million acquisition of Nick D'Aloisio's Summly, a news summary app,in addition to other pick-ups like social recommendation company Jybe and GoPollGo.

Some of these acquisitions give Yahoo! extra programming and strategy talent, and in part, Yahoo! is playing a keep-your-enemies-closer tactic by acquiring potential competitors in the mobile space. There are even rumors that Yahoo! will aim for Hulu next. ...

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Ireland Welcomes Watson Pharmaceuticals, an American Success

twocents@thestreet.com (Antoine Gara) — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:27 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Watson Pharmaceuticals, founded by a Taiwanese immigrant in the early 1980s and now a rival to generic drug giants Teva Pharmaceuticals and Novartis , is such an American success story the company has wound up in Ireland.

On Monday, Watson capped its intercontinental move when the company announced a $8.5 billion deal to buy Dublin-based-Warner Chilcott . In order to take advantage of byzantine tax and merger laws, the combined company will now incorporate in Ireland, ending Watson's spectacular three-decade rise to become a U.S. success story in the global pharmaceutical market.

Watson was founded in 1985 by an immigrant Purdue University Ph.D., Allen Chao, and a colleague, David S. Hsia, as a fledgling pharmaceutical with a few million dollars raised by friends and family in the Taiwanese community living in California. ...

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Cramer Quick Take: Talking MLPs

twocents@thestreet.com (Bret Kenwell) — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:49 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- "Mad Money" Research Director Nicole Urken sat down with TheStreet's Jim Cramer to talk about master limited partnerships. With the recent run in stocks, many investors are left wondering where to put their money to work. Bonds won't work, according to Cramer -- even municipal bonds, because they don't yield enough and can't keep pace with inflation. Cramer said investors need to own REITs, utilities (for growth) and some MLPs, noting, you "only need to get rich once." Urken added that some of their favorite MLPs include Enterprise Products Partners and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners. Urken noted that in all MLPs you want to look for three things, and specifically Kinder Morgan and Enterprise Products offer them: strong management, a continually growing yield and the least exposure to commodities. Cramer added that companies such as General Mills and Campbell Soup Company are quality companies with healthy dividends, but lack a favorable yield after the run in stocks this year. Urken concluded that MLPs are "just right for this environment." ...

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Cramer Quick Take: Learning About Tumblr

twocents@thestreet.com (Bret Kenwell) — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:29 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- "Mad Money" Research Director Nicole Urken sat down with her brother, TheStreet's Ross Kenneth Urken, to help Jim Cramer understand Tumblr, the social media blogging site being bought by Yahoo!. Cramer, who had mistakenly interpreted Tumblr as a type of drink, wasn't aware of its purpose -- or its appeal. "It was an instant turn-off," he said, referring to the topics that were provided such as recipes, animals and art. But, he did say he could understand why younger people would like these. Admitting that he may be too old for it, he noted that younger CEOs are more in touch than older ones, which is a good thing, in his mind. Cramer wondered why users would go to Tumblr, instead of Twitter or YouTube. Nicole told him, "When it comes to social media, you need a number of outlets." When Cramer asked why not have your own Web page instead, Ross responded, "Tumblr is social. You can follow people, you can 'like' people." Yahoo! reportedly bought the company for $1.1 billion. The acquisition was made to drive traffic, not collect direct revenue from Tumblr . As Nicole put it, it's Yahoo!'s way of saying, "Hey we're cool, we exist." ...

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Nvidia's Backing Its 'Big Game' Talks

twocents@thestreet.com (Richard Saintvilus) — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:21 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Each time Nvidia is discussed it's always in the context of the company's ability to change its chip strategy.

The Street doubts Nvidia can successfully transition itself from a PC-dependent graphics chip company to one that can compete on the big stage with Qualcomm and Broadcom in the realm of mobile devices.

However, management has shown it has a "chip on its shoulder" in more ways than one. The company has made clear it doesn't appreciate the bets that have been placed against it. In fact, during the company's fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report in February, during which Nvidia posted increases of 16% and 36% in revenue and profits, respectively, CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said, "My expectation is that we'll gain market share this year or we'll continue to gain market share this year." ...

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Betting on BB&T

twocents@thestreet.com (Richard Saintvilus) — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:10 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet)- On more than one occasion, I've sang the praises of BB&T to just about anyone who cared to listen.

While this regional bank does not carry the high profile of JPMorgan Chase or the consistency of Wells Fargo , BB&T was not bruised like many of its peers during the financial crisis.

Even though the stock has stagnated recently, the company does possess a solid operation and considerable value. ...

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Cramer Quick Take: Yahoo!-Tumblr Could Be Huge

twocents@thestreet.com (Bret Kenwell) — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:49 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- TheStreet's Jim Cramer and "Mad Money" Research Director Nicole Urken sat down to discuss the Tumblr takeover by Yahoo!. Yahoo! has reportedly agreed to pay $1.1 billion for the social media blogging site Tumblr. The board unanimously agreed to the purchase, which included keeping David Karp, the CEO of Tumblr, with Yahoo! for at least four years. He will remain CEO and keep a proactive role in its future. Urken noted that Tumblr will continue to operate as a separate entity from Yahoo!. She added, "You're buying Mayer's judgment here." Cramer also noted that in many other cases, investors are buying into the CEO's vision, such as Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Starbucks' Howard Schultz. He went on to say the acquisition could be huge for Yahoo!'s CEO Marissa Mayer, or "maybe she's going to strike out, but she's on the map," he said. Tumblr is not a competitor to Yahoo! and the acquisition is seen as a branding mechanism, in his opinion. Yahoo! expects the deal to increase its traffic by 50%, to over one billion monthly users. The acquisition was made in an effort by Yahoo! to increase its site traffic, particularly from teens and young adults. The $1.1 billion purchase represents roughly one-fifth of Yahoo!'s $5.4 billion in cash. ...

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5 Stocks Set to Soar on Bullish Earnings

twocents@thestreet.com (Roberto Pedone) — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:36 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Short-sellers hate being caught short a stock that reports a blowout quarter. When this happens, we often see a tradable short squeeze develop as the bears rush to cover their positions to avoid big losses. Even the best short-sellers know that it's never a great idea to stay short once a bullish earnings report sparks a big short-covering rally.

This is why I scan the market for heavily shorted stocks that are about to report earnings. You only need to find a few of these stocks in a year to help enhance your portfolio returns -- the gains become so outsized in such a short time frame that your profits add up quickly.

>>5 Rocket Stocks Ready for Blastoff ...

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Cramer: A Pile of Simply Horrendous Advice

twocents@thestreet.com (Jim Cramer) — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:58 GMT

Editor's Note: This article was originally published at 7:40 a.m. ET on Real Money on May 20. To see Jim Cramer's latest commentary as it's published, sign up for a free trial of Real Money.

NEW YORK (Real Money) -- You've been an idiot if you've sold almost any stock so far since the start of 2013. You've been a moron if you've been waiting for revenue to pick up before you've bought. You have been a fool if you've feared the Federal Reserve would act imminently. You've been a total bozo if you've listened to President Obama about the crashing of the economy because of the sequester -- particularly if you've sold the defense names, which have been the best-acting stocks in the book.

In fact, the moves are eerie. It is as if there had been an edict that every stock -- other than gold stocks, a copper or an iron ore stock and maybe a few steels -- that everything has to go higher. ...

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The Deal: Yahoo! Posts Tumblr For $1.1B in Mobile Growth Bid

twocents@thestreet.com (The Deal) — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:44 GMT

NEW YORK (TheDeal) -- Yahoo!, the Sunnyvale, California-based Web company undergoing a broad strategy shift under new CEO Marissa Mayer, will acquire New York startup Tumblr for $1.1 billion in cash in an ongoing attempt to establish its presence on smartphones. Also see: Tumblr Yahoos! Old Dog, New Blog >>

Tumblr reportedly took in $13 million in revenue in 2012, and so far into 2013 has fallen short on its revenue goals of $100 million. The company raised about $125 million from venture capital investors from 2007 to 2011. Also see: Yahoo! 'Tumbling' Down the Right but Expensive Path

"Tumblr brings 50 billion blog posts (and 75 million more arriving each day) to Yahoo!'s media network and search experiences," the companies said in a joint statement Monday, May 20. ...

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Build a Strong Portfolio With REITs: Opinion

twocents@thestreet.com (Brad Thomas) — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:41 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- It's hard to argue REITs should not be in your core portfolio when the dividend-centric sector is crushing just about all other well known asset classes. Year to date, all equity real estate investment trusts have returned over 15%, according to NAREIT, beating out the broader S&P 500 index (11.6%) and the Russell 2000 (9.2%).

Some of the REIT sectors have produced some extraordinary results including the freestanding, or triple-net, sector that has returned an average of 28.8% for the year to date. The health care sector has also had a remarkable run, returning around 23.7% in the same period, also according to NAREIT.

I'm not a gambler but I'm betting retail REITs will continue to outperform. Year-to-date the shopping center REITs have returned around 17.3% and the regional mall REITs have returned over 11% in April alone. ...

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Citi Mortgage CEO Sanjiv Das Departs

twocents@thestreet.com (Shanthi Bharatwaj) — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:28 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Citigroup said Sanjiv Das, CEO of Citi Mortgage, is leaving the bank to pursue other opportunities.

According to an internal memo announcing management changes, viewed by TheStreet, CEO Mike Corbat said Jane Fraser will become CEO of Citi Mortgages. Fraser led the Citi Private Bank for the past four years. Fraser, a former partner at McKinsey & Co. joined Citigroup in 2004.

Das will, however, remain at the bank for the next few months to help the bank work on mortgage issues related to the government. ...

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GE Capital to Pay $6.5 Billion Dividends to GE (Update 1)

twocents@thestreet.com (Philip van Doorn) — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:23 GMT

8:09 a.m. ET with morning market action and comments from BernsteinResearch analyst Steven Winoker.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- GE Capital plans to churn out even more cash than it did last year.

The board of directors of General Electric's financial services subsidiary said on Monday it planned to pay the parent company a total of $6.5 billion in dividends during 2013, increasing from $6.4 billion during 2012. ...

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Should Powerball Winner Take Lump-sum Payment or Annuitize?

twocents@thestreet.com (Ross Kenneth Urken) — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:18 GMT

NEW YORK (MainStreet)-One lucky person at a Publix supermarket in Zephyrhills, Fla. purchased the winning ticket for the highest Powerball jackpot in history, estimated at $590.5 million.

After winning with odds at 1 in 175.2 million, the person has done the hard part, but whether to take a lump-sum cash pay-out or to annuitize the winnings is the cushy, but difficult decision the lucky duck will now have to make.

Also see: Cramer Divines Vine: Old Dog, New Blog ...

Grads Shocked by Their Own College Debt

twocents@thestreet.com (Brian O'Connell) — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:00 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Are U.S. college graduates "surprised" by the amount of student loan debt they've accumulated?

You bet they are. But the real question is this: How did college grads not see this loan debt tsunami coming? Also see: Jumping into a Summer Job? Here's Where (and How) to Get Hired Now

More data are pouring in confirming that college students are in over their heads - at least from a financial point of view. According to Fidelity Investments' second Cost-Conscious College Graduates Study, released Friday, 70% of the college Class of 2013 owes, on average, $35,000 in student loan debt private and public, as well as debt owed on credit cards and from family loans. ...

ETF Basics Part 3: The Benefits of the ETF Structure

twocents@thestreet.com (WisdomTree) — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:00 GMT

This is part 3 of 3. Please click here for part 1, and here for part 2.

NEW YORK (WisdomTree) --There are many exchange-traded products on the market today. But would it surprise you to learn that the term "exchange-traded funds" is actually overused? The truth is that although the term "ETF" is now used as a sort of catchall, in reality, we believe only those exchange-traded investments registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 ("registered") are truly exchange-traded funds.

Designed to ensure managers act in the investors' best interests, the Investment Company Act of 1940 ("'40 Act") is an important piece of legislation that defines how investments registered under the '40 Act are built and managed....

5 Rocket Stocks Ready for Blastoff

twocents@thestreet.com (Jonas Elmerraji) — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:40 GMT

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- So far, May has certainly lived up to the "new month, new market" mantra that's defined stocks in 2013. Since the calendar flipped over on May 1, the S&P 500 has rallied approximately 5.4% -- that's an annualized pace of 228%!

Clearly, that breakneck pace isn't sustainable. But that doesn't mean that stocks are due for a big pullback necessarily. Based on the last time the S&P went so far so fast during this rally, a period of sideways consolidation looks more likely than a sharp decline.

>>5 Stocks Setting Up to Break Out ...

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'Easy Money' Over for Bank of America Stock: KBW

twocents@thestreet.com (Philip van Doorn) — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:31 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- "We are more than happy to take some profits off the table."

This sums up KBW analyst Christopher Mutascio's downgrade of Bank of America's stock on Sunday to a "market perform" rating from "outperform."

Bank of America's shares closed at $13.43 Friday, just below their reported March 31 tangible book value of $13.46. The shares have returned 16% this year, after more than doubling during 2012. ...

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Did Google Just Place Three Big Bets on Nvidia?

twocents@thestreet.com (Anton Wahlman) — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:30 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Google is in increasing competition with the main computing ecosystem players. Among the biggest fights Google is engaging, are the following three: Apple : Google needs to out-gun Apple in mobile computing -- smartphones and tablets. Microsoft : Google needs to out-gun Microsoft in traditional PCs and gaming. Facebook : Google needs to become the main alternative to Facebook in social networking.

In the last few days, it appears that Google's weapon of choice to fight these three battles may be Nvidia . Let me tell you why: Apple

Apple and the iPhone/iPad: At the annual Google i/o developer conference last week, the Android development leadership was on stage and answered questions from the very large audience. One question was -- and I am paraphrasing -- what Google considers the biggest opportunity for Android going forward? ...

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An Uncertain Bull Market

twocents@thestreet.com (TheStreet Guest Contributor) — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:30 GMT

By Alex Gurvich, portfolio manager at The Rockledge Group

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- This is an unbelievably good market, one may say. As of May 16, the S&P 500 is up 3.3% for the month and over 15.7% for the year. Just look at the numbers, the S&P 500 had six consecutive positive months and only four negative months for the past 19 months going back to October 2011. If we continue at this rate the S&P 500 might be touching 2,000 mark by the end of the year. It all looks wonderful, doesn't it?

Just a quick reality check, a year ago, the S&P 500 was up over 11% at the end of April 2012 before it dropped over 6% in May. Clearly this has not repeated itself this year, or maybe just not yet. ...

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Yahoo! Acquires Tumblr for $1.1B Ahead of the Ticker

twocents@thestreet.com (Brittany Umar) — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:02 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Yahoo! is acquiring blogging service Tumblr for about $1.1 billion in cash in an effort to increase its audience.

The deal will use about a fifth of Yahoo's $5.4 billion in cash and marketable securities.

Tumblr, a widely used blogging service with over 100 million users, is especially popular with teens and young adults. Yahoo! said the acquisition should increase its audience by 50% to more than a billion monthly visitors. ...

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The Deal: Actavis Plays Hunter in $8.5 Billion Deal for Ireland's Warner Chilcott

twocents@thestreet.com (The Deal) — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:01 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Drugmaker Actavis Inc. flipped from hunted to hunter on Monday, May 20, announcing plans to acquire specialty pharmaceuticals firm Warner Chilcott plc for $8.5 billion in stock and assumed debt.

Terms of the deal call for Parsippany, N.J.-based Actavis to pay 0.160 shares of its stock for each share of Warner Chilcott, valuing the target's shares at $20.08 apiece based on Actavis' May 17 close of $125.50. The deal offers a premium of 34% to Dublin-based Warner Chilcott's closing price on May 9, the day before the companies first disclosed they were in deal talks.

Actavis shares were gaining 2.8% to $129 Monday morning while Warner Chilcott was adding 1.4% to $19.48. ...

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Yes, Apple Still Dominates. However ...

twocents@thestreet.com (Rocco Pendola) — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:00 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Get a load of the comments section of the YouTube version of my Friday appearance on CNN.

While I'm not surprised at the behavior of a minority with Internet beer muscles, the parts of the interview they took exception to bemuse.

...

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Dell's Vulnerable Stock

twocents@thestreet.com (Richard Cox) — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:54 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Dell Inc. posted one of last week's biggest earnings disappointments, as earnings for its fiscal first quarter ended May 31 fell 79% and revenue fell 2%.

Most of the attention is on the company's PC division, where sales fell by 9% to $8.9 billion as laptop sales dropped by a lot. Operating profits in the segment fell 65% to $224 million,

On the positive side, sales in network gear and servers rose 14%, and services revenue rose by 2%. ...

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Cities Need More Starbucks, Not CityTargets

twocents@thestreet.com (Rocco Pendola) — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:45 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- A few months ago, after visiting CityTargets in Downtown San Francisco and near UCLA in Los Angeles, I called Target's urban concept stores major disappointments, though not necessarily epic failures.

Here's the deal: To refer to what Target does in core neighborhoods of big cities as a "concept" belittles the word. I always thought a concept was something bigger than an obvious and poorly-executed idea. There's absolutely no innovation in Target's urban push. It's merely a workaround of city planning regulations and activist opposition.

We'll get updated numbers from Target shortly after it reports earnings on Wednesday, but don't expect much change from the above-citied article. CityTargets -- speaking quantitatively (actual square footage data) and qualitatively (the way they "feel") -- are hardly different from any other type of Target outpost, except SuperTargets. Starbucks Is Urban, CityTarget Is Not ...

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Futures Slip as Investors Seek Fed Clarity

twocents@thestreet.com (Andrea Tse) — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:13 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stock futures were trading down Monday after the S&P 500 booked its fourth week of gains as investors sought clarity about the direction of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy.

Federal Open Market Committee hawks have dominated the conversation in recent weeks, but later this week the bank's chief advisory panel will release a report from its most recent meeting, signalling its broader intentions. P/>"We see two things to watch for: hints of concern that inflation is too low and confirmation that the Fed has the flexibility to increase as well as reduce the pace of QE," Ethan Harris, co-head of Global Economics Research, wrote in a note. "Note that the FOMC minutes also are released and they tend to be a platform for the non-voting hawks to protest against the directive."

Yahoo! shares were falling 1.13% to $26.22 in pre-market trading after the company announced a deal to purchase Tumblr for $1.1 billion, substantially all of which will be payable in cash. In a press release, the company said "per the agreement and our promise not to screw it up," Tumblr will be independently operated as a separate business with David Karp remaining CEO. ...

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Yahoo! Takes Tumblr in $1.1B Deal

twocents@thestreet.com (Gary Krakow) — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:12 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - After much speculation, Yahoo! has confirmed that it is buying Tumblr, a popular microblogging platform and social media Website.

According to the early morning press release the total cost of the deal is approximately $1.1 billion, substantially all of which is payable in cash. Also see: Yahoo! 'Tumbling' Down the Right but Expensive Path

Yahoo! is up 0.11% to $26.55 in pre-market trading. ...

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Square Stand to Change Payments ... Again

twocents@thestreet.com (Chris Ciaccia) — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (TheStreet) -- Square, the company that helped bring the mobile payment and digital wallet industry to the forefront of consumers minds, is at it again. This time, the company is taking a slightly more traditional approach to payments, but in a whole new way.

Square Stand, which the company announced earlier this week, is poised to disrupt the traditional point-of-sale (POS) hardware and software that merchants use. Small and medium-sized businesses that use Square to process their payments either used an Apple iPhone or iPad married with a hap-hazard piece of hardware to hold it down, in a custom solution. Stand marries the holder to the iPad, but does much more.

Square Stand, which retails for $299 and will be available at Best Buy , Square's Web site, and other yet-to-be-announced retailers, combines all the software and hardware accessories a business would need, including a receipt printer, kitchen printer, cash drawer and a scanner. ...

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Websense Surges On Vista Equity Buyout

twocents@thestreet.com (Antoine Gara) — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:57 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - Websense said on Monday it has agreed to be taken private by Vista Equity Partners in an all-cash deal that values the Internet security specialist at $24.75 a share or just under $1 billion.

Vista Equity Partners, a leading buyout investor in enterprise technology and security software, will pay about a 29% premium to Websense's Friday closing share price and a 53% premium to the company's average closing price over the past 60 trading days.

In pre-market trading, Websense shares rose above Vista's offer price to $24.99 a share. Prior to Monday's deal, Websense shares were up just under 3% in the last 12 months and down marginally over the past five years, underperforming the S&P 500. ...

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Analysts' Actions: ABT ACN GD KMX PCLN

twocents@thestreet.com (TheStreet Staff) — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:43 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- CHANGE IN RATINGS

Abbott Laboratories was upgraded at Goldman Sachs was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman Sachs. $44 price target. Growth poised to accelerated with margin expansion, Goldman said.

Accenture was upgraded at Goldman Sachs to buy. $90 price target. Consulting business is turning around, Goldman said. ...

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When CEO is Superhero, Chairman Is Sidekick

twocents@thestreet.com (Shanthi Bharatwaj) — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:36 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shareholder activists calling for an independent chairman at JPMorgan Chase may be guided by principles of sound corporate governance, but they fail to see the biggest weakness in their case.

So long as Jamie Dimon stays CEO, he will be the boss.

JPMorgan's annual meeting is on Tuesday. Among the various proxy items subject to a shareholder vote is a proposal to split Dimon's dual roles as CEO and chairman of the board of directors. ...

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Top Insider Trades: DXM, SPB, AMTD, GHDX

twocents@thestreet.com (Jonathan Moreland) — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:18 GMT

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By Jonathan Moreland, founder of Insider Insights and author of Profit From Legal Insider Trading.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- It is a victory for common sense. Tracking the trading behavior of company executives, directors and large shareholders in the stocks of firms they're registered in as "insiders" has proven to be profitable, according to both academic studies and (more importantly) the experience of professional investors. ...

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Big Bank Phobia: Liquidity, Stupid, Not Just Capital

twocents@thestreet.com (Philip van Doorn) — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:00 GMT

This is the second of a three-part series rebutting the three most popular approaches toward lowering the systemic risk of large U.S. banks. Make sure to read Part 1, on breaking up the big banks and Part 3, on the folly of bringing back Glass-Steagall.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The Federal Reserve's annual stress test process has done a lot of good, but the tests need to be broadened to include stresses to liquidity as part of the regulator's "severely adverse scenarios."

This is the second of our three-part series rebutting the three major ideas for ending the perception that the nation's largest banks are "too big to fail," focusing on the emphasis of regulators on making sure large banks have enough capital to avoid another government bailout. ...

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Big Bank Phobia: Not Too Big to Fail

twocents@thestreet.com (Philip van Doorn) — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:22 GMT

This is the first of a three-part series rebutting the three most popular approaches toward lowering the systemic risk of large U.S. banks. Make sure to read Part 2, on liquidity vs. capital reserves and Part 3, on the folly of bringing back Glass-Steagall.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- There are three main approaches being taken by the enemies of large U.S. banks, and all of them are bad ideas.

Five years after the peak of the credit crisis, nearly three years after the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was passed, and more than two years since the last "final disposition" of government bailouts for the "big six" U.S. banks, it remains quite stylish for members of both political parties to continually bash the large banks, saying they represent a continued threat to the U.S. taxpayer. ...

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